LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Diversified investment group, ZimRe Holdings Limited (ZHL), will acquire more strategically located pieces of land across the country as part of efforts to preserve its balance sheet.
The development comes after ZHL recently acquired land in Mazoe and Victoria Falls.
The group CEO, Stanley Kudenga (pictured) told Business Times that the land bank will help to preserve shareholder value for the company.
“We have taken a position on the land bank, which is to hedge ourselves by acquiring more land across the country. After acquiring 12 hectares of land in Mazowe and another 12 hectares in Victoria Falls, we want to acquire more land but currently, we are mainly targeting prime areas,” Kudenga said.
He said the company has turned its investment focus to infrastructure and national landmark project development.
ZHL has registered a real estate investment trust (REIT) named the Eagle REIT, which will be launching two signature development projects in Mazowe and Victoria Falls.
Kudenga said the location of these developments is not by chance as the group seeks to urbanise the communities and address the housing deficit at all levels of society.
He also disclosed that ZHL has secured regulatory approval to inject capital into Emeritus Re Mozambique, with the first payment having been successfully deployed to the unit.
Kudenga said the regional operations continue to be strategic investments and a buffer against a volatile business operating environment in Zimbabwe.
In its trading update for the five months to May 31, 2023, regional reinsurance operations contributed 54% to its total gross premium written and 36% to total income.
With a 48% performance contribution, Emeritus Malawi had a significant impact on the region.
The life and pension cluster contributed 31% of the group’s overall revenue during the period under review, while local insurance and reinsurance contributed 23%.
The growth in the life and pension cluster was driven by individual life premiums through the success of the Vaka Yako product.
Overall, reinsurance experienced a 51% improvement while ZHL’s local reinsurance operations during the period also saw an improvement in claims experience, which was down 49% from 2022.
